Doing the job is the easy bit. Getting the money for it is where a lot of good tradespeople come unstuck. You finish on Friday, send the invoice on Sunday night, and three weeks later you're still chasing while the customer is "just sorting it".

Most late payment isn't down to bad customers. It's down to fuzzy agreements, invoices that turn up late, and extras nobody wrote down. Fix those and most of the chasing goes away. Here's how.

Getting your money starts with the quote

If the quote is vague, the invoice will be argued over. Simple as that. A good quote should say:

Who the customer is and where the job is.
What you're doing, and just as important, what you're not doing.
How much, broken into line items so nobody wonders where the money goes.
Whether VAT is included, if you're VAT registered. Nothing starts a row faster than a customer finding out the price was before VAT.
When you expect the money, and in what stages.

Then get it signed. A nod on the doorstep isn't an agreement you can point to later. A signed quote is. If the customer has agreed the scope, the price and the payment terms in writing, the invoice is just the paperwork catching up.

Take a deposit

For anything beyond a small job, ask for money up front. A deposit does three things:

It covers materials, so you're not funding the customer's kitchen out of your own account.
It shows the customer is serious. People who put down a deposit tend not to vanish.
It sets the tone. Paying you is part of the deal from day one, not an afterthought.

How much depends on your trade and the job. Material-heavy work usually justifies a bigger deposit than labour-only work. Whatever you pick, put it on the quote so it's agreed before you start, not sprung on anyone later.

Break bigger jobs into stages

On a longer job, holding out until the end for your money is a big risk. If something goes wrong in week four, you could be owed the lot. Stage payments keep the money coming in line with the work.

A common setup is a deposit, a payment at a clear milestone (first fix done, roof stripped, patio base down), and the rest on completion. Tie each stage to something you can both see, not a date that slips when the weather turns. "When the walls are plastered" is easier to agree on than "by the 15th".

Send each payment request as soon as you hit the stage. Not at the end of the week, not when you remember. The sooner it lands, the sooner it's settled.

Write down the extras

Extras are where friendly jobs go sour. The customer asks you to "just" move a socket or "while you're there" do the side path. You say yes, because you're being helpful. Then the final invoice is higher than they expected and suddenly you're the bad guy.

The fix is boring but it works: price every extra, write it down and get it agreed before you do it. Even small ones. A quick additional works quote that the customer signs takes a couple of minutes and saves a long argument at the end.

Invoice the day you finish

The longer you leave it, the less urgent it feels to the customer. The job is fresh in their mind on the day you finish. Two weeks later they've moved on, and so has their money.

Send the final invoice the day the job is done, ideally before you've even left. Do it in the van, not at the kitchen table at 10pm.

What a clear invoice needs

Your business name, phone number and logo.
The customer's name and the job address.
A unique invoice number. Numbering them in order keeps your records tidy and your accountant happy.
The date and what the work was.
Line items, including any agreed extras.
What's already come in (deposit and stages) and what's left to pay.
VAT shown clearly, if you charge it.
Your sort code and account number, and the date payment is due.

Make paying you easy. If the customer has to ring you for your sort code, you've just added a day.

Chasing without falling out

Even with all that, some people will pay late. Most are disorganised rather than dodgy, so start friendly and get firmer.

Due date: a short, polite reminder. "Just a nudge, the invoice for the bathroom is due today."
A few days late: another reminder, with the invoice attached once more. Ask if there's a problem.
Still nothing: pick up the phone. A call is harder to ignore than a message.
Long overdue: put it in writing that you'll take further steps if it isn't settled by a set date. For business customers, the law lets you charge interest on late commercial payments, so it's worth looking into. For bigger sums, get proper legal advice.

Keep every message calm and factual. If it ever ends up in front of someone else, you want to look like the reasonable one.

Keep your records tidy

Getting the money in is half of it. Knowing who has settled up is the other half. Mark payments off as they come in, so you're not chasing someone who cleared it last Tuesday. At year end, your accountant will want every invoice in one place, not a carrier bag of receipts and a few screenshots.

Where 4trades fits in

4trades is quoting and invoicing software for UK tradespeople, made in Devon. It runs in a web browser on your phone, tablet or computer. Add it to your home screen and it opens like an app, with nothing to download from an app store.

It's built around the steps above:

Type rough notes or photograph a handwritten quote, and it sets it out with customer info, scope, line items and payment stages. Anything it guessed is outlined for you to check.
Send the quote by WhatsApp or to the customer's inbox. They sign it on their phone with no account or download, and you're told right away. A signed copy is saved, and the customer can download one too.
Set a deposit and stage payments, send each payment request and mark it off when the money lands.
Add an additional works quote to a signed job. It's signed the same way and goes on the final invoice.
Job accepted on paper or over the phone? Mark the quote accepted by hand.
Each finished job gets a numbered final invoice, with VAT totals shown if you charge 20%. At year end, download the lot with a spreadsheet for your accountant.
Your logo and colours go on quotes, invoices and the signing page.

You can see the full list on the features page, or go through it step by step on how it works. Prices for each package are on the packages page, and there's a 30-day free trial of the full Business package with no card needed. Got questions first? Try the FAQs.

The short version

Agree the price and terms in writing. Take a deposit. Stage the payments on bigger jobs. Write down every extra. Invoice the day you finish. Chase politely, then firmly. Do that and you'll spend a lot less time chasing your money, and a lot more time earning it.

How to Get Your Money on Time: Invoicing for UK Trades